Intellectual capital evaluation using fuzzy cognitive maps: A scenario-based development planning

• A fuzzy model for intellectual capital development planning.
• Fuzzy cognitive maps to evaluate intellectual capital for the first time.
• Consider intellectual capital components' interrelationships in its development planning.
• Provide guidelines for intellectual capital strategic development.

Evaluation of Intellectual Capital (IC) is a vital phenomenon for various organizations in order to determine the value of the organization, to improve the control system and to assist strategic planning and decision-making. This study presents a new model in which the interactions between the IC components are considered in the evaluation and development planning process. This, in turn, would enhance the accuracy in evaluating IC and would aid managers in establishing a development plan for IC. In other words, this study tackles the common problem of the inner correlation between IC components by using fuzzy logic, which bears concrete results. The procedure starts with studying numerous criteria proposed for measuring IC drawn from the literature and selecting the most frequently used ones. Then, the selected criteria are refined through a questionnaire based on their relevance to the organization in which we want to evaluate IC. Interactions among IC criteria are captured with the help of Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs). The present study is the first that uses FCMs method for evaluating IC. After the influence of each criterion over the others is identified, several scenarios are developed and analyzed in order to realize their efficiency and effectiveness for IC development. The results reveal that improving IC criteria with maximum influence over others, does not necessarily lead to the development of IC and investigations are required to establish the development plan.